Songs of Voyager
by Brenda Shaffer-Shiring
Summary: A collection of songs about a certain gallant little ship and her crew.
1. Take Me Home, Voyager

I wrote this song with my husband, Charles H. Shiring, and we consider it our "signature" Voyager tune, since there's no theme so "Voyager" as the longing to be home....  
  
  
Take Me Home, Voyager  
tune: "Take Me Home, Country Roads"  
  
Travellin' homeward   
On our starship  
Sounds of warp drive  
Throbbing through her deckplates  
Life is lonely  
We must all be strong  
While our faithful starship  
Carries us along  
  
Chorus:  
Take me home, Voyager  
To the space where I belong  
Back to Alpha  
My home quadrant  
Take me home, Voyager  
  
All our hopes are  
Centered on her  
Noble lady  
Stranger to the Delta  
White and silver  
In black space she gleams  
Source of life and longing  
Focus of our dreams  
(Chorus)  
  
Oh, Alpha space  
Like a siren song you call me  
Your distant stars remind me  
Of my own, far away  
And flyin' through this space I wish  
We could have gone there  
Could have gone home yesterday  
Yesterday  
(Chorus)  
  
Take me home, Voyager 


	2. The Voyager Bunch

Someday I'll forgive my husband for putting the idea for this little tune in my head...  
  
  
The Voyager Bunch  
tune: "The Brady Bunch"  
  
It's the story  
Of a lovely lady  
Who commanded a mighty ship of Fleet  
All her crew were brave  
And they were stalwart  
The kind that can't be beat  
  
It's the story  
Of a Maquis captain  
Who commanded a fine ship of his own  
But it was pulled off into the Delta  
And stranded all alone  
  
Till the one day when the lady met the Maquis  
And they found one thing on which they could concur  
That their crews must somehow join together  
And they all should try to bring home Voyager  
  
The Voyager  
The Voyager  
Now they all try to bring home Voyager 


	3. If You're Gonna Live in Delta

When you're the only starship in the area, you have to observe certain precautions. The spouse and I worked on this one together.  
  
  
If You're Gonna Live in Delta (You Gotta Have a Phaser in Your Hand)  
tune: "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)"  
  
Chorus:  
If you're gonna live in Delta  
You gotta have a phaser in your hand  
Your Starfleet rules are nice  
But those darned Borg don't understand  
So charge those weapons good so they can fire  
Don't take a chance  
If you're gonna live in Delta  
You gotta have a phaser in your hand  
  
I remember with the Kazon  
We were trying to make a deal  
When Culluh on his bridge stood up and said  
"Your ship I'll steal"  
We said "That guy's a bully  
We can't let him win  
Let's fire our phasers now, then fire again  
(Chorus)  
  
So we headed off for home  
We thought we'd set those Kazon straight  
Then Hirogen fired on us  
And we were in an awful way  
We said, "You want to play games, folks  
Well, we can play them too  
Here's a sample of what we can do"  
(Chorus (3x)) 


	4. Fly on Janeway

Groovin' with the captain? I have to take sole blame for this one!  
  
  
Fly on Janeway  
tune: "Hang on Sloopy"  
  
Janeway fly through a very bad part of space  
All the bad guys there try to put her in her place  
Janeway she don't care what they say or they do  
'Cause Janeway you know she just gonna keep flyin' through  
  
Fly on Janeway, Janeway fly on  
Fly on Janeway, Janeway fly on  
  
Janeway flies, got a very long way to roam  
Janeway flyin' all the way back to her home  
Fly on Janeway, Janeway fly on  
Fly on Janeway  
Say engage, yeah  
Go go go go  
Go go go go  
  
Now I want you to tell me something, Janeway  
Tell me we'll get all the way  
I hear you say  
Yeah  
  
Fly on Janeway, Janeway fly on  
Fly on Janeway, Janeway fly on  
Fly on Janeway, Janeway fly on  
Fly on Janeway, Janeway fly on 


	5. He Who Loved the Land

Dan Fogelberg provides the music as Chakotay remembers his father, Kolopak...  
  
  
He Who Loved the Land (Chakotay's Song)  
tune: "Leader of the Band"  
  
I was a child, born free and wild  
My father's only son  
And what I learned there at his knee  
When I was very young  
Was that the world in which we lived  
To its own self belonged  
And if we tried to keep its ways  
In honor we'd be strong  
  
Our people lived the old ways  
And my father lived the same  
He said the richness of our world  
Was nothing man should tame  
One day he took a lump of soil  
And pressed it in my hand  
He said it was my heritage  
To learn to love the land  
  
Chorus:  
He who loved the land is gone  
But his mem'ry won't grow cold  
For his purpose burns hot in my blood  
And his cause, it fires my soul  
I'll strive to guard my father's world  
In any way I can  
I will protect the legacy  
Of he who loved the land  
  
But I was seeking other truths  
And so I went to space  
I wandered through the different worlds  
And never found my place  
So Father was alone the day  
Cardassians came to take  
The land he'd always cherished  
In their image to remake  
  
My father died that dreadful day  
He fell to alien greed  
I came back home and took up arms  
To answer our world's need  
My Starfleet calls me traitor now  
But they don't understand  
I am the son of Kolopak  
And I will guard the land  
(Chorus)  
  
I am become the legacy  
Of he who loved the land  
  
-- Brenda Shaffer-Shiring  
  
[Author's note: This song is included in "I Feel a Filk Coming On," a collection of Trek-oriented songs published by Unicorn Press ()] 


	6. I'm Not Bad

Tom Paris does Tom Petty. Works for me!  
  
  
I'm Not Bad (Paris's Song)  
tune: "Yer So Bad"  
  
Once I was a Fleet guy  
Oh, how hard I'd try  
But I hit a big, bad reverse  
Then my life it smelled but  
Now I'm in Delta  
I think that just might be worse  
  
Chorus:  
Don't blame me, baby  
For the way life's made me  
I'm not bad  
Best pilot that you ever had  
Though my life's been mad  
I'm not bad  
  
Dad was so testy  
I did my best, he  
Acted like I'd done my worst  
Now his voice I hear not  
Light-years from earshot  
I think that just might be worse  
(Chorus)  
  
Chakotay the Maquis  
He used to hate me  
Threatened my life, and he'd curse  
Now he's the exec  
He docks my paycheck  
I think that just might be worse  
(Chorus) 


	7. Children's Songs

A few songs for the kiddies....each too short to merit its own chapter. I sang the first one to my baby son!  
  
  
Rock-A-Bye Starship Baby  
tune: "Rock-a-Bye Baby"  
  
Rock-a-bye baby on the starship  
If we take fire, your cradle will slip  
Out through the doorway, into the hall  
We'll tractor you back in, cradle and all  
  
******************  
  
Where, O Where, Has Poor Voyager Gone?  
tune: "Where, O Where Has My Little Dog Gone?"  
  
Where, o where has poor Voyager gone?  
Where, o where can she be?  
We sent her out but she's gone so long  
O where, o where can she be?  
  
We sent her out for a two-week flight  
She went to track the Maquis  
But now she's gone and the Maquis too  
O where, o where can they be?  
  
********************  
  
(This one is for "Blink of an Eye," in which Voyager was stuck in orbit above a planet where time traveled at a much faster rate.)  
  
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Ship  
tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"  
  
Twinkle, twinkle little ship  
Where will you go on your trip?  
Up above our world so high  
You're the star to which we fly  
Twinkle, twinkle little ship  
Where will you go on your trip? 


	8. Christmas in Delta

A few Christmas favorites, as they might have been sung in the Delta Quadrant....  
  
  
Away Out in Delta  
tune: "Away in the Manger"  
  
Away out in Delta, no way to return  
To the place back in Alpha for which our hearts yearn  
Though stars all around us, they point out the way  
We cannot get back there for many a day  
  
It's Janeway who guides and gives strength to us all  
Chakotay stands second, too faithful to fall  
We struggle to match them, to give them our best  
But still our hearts quail at the never-ending quest  
  
We've got to remember, with each day we go  
We've come one day closer to space that we know  
And so we'll keep flying, and so we'll be strong  
We'll finish our journey, no matter how long  
  
**********  
  
Paris's Lament, or Somebody Finked on Me  
tune: "Nuttin' for Christmas"  
  
I said the captain was a babe  
Somebody finked on me  
I hustled the X/O at games  
Somebody finked on me  
I patted Torres on the rear  
Tugged on Mister Tuvok's ear  
Made Doc show up in a beer  
Somebody finked on me  
  
Chorus:  
I'm getting' nothin' for Christmas  
I've made the whole starship mad  
They'll get me nothin' for Christmas  
'Cause they say my attitude's bad  
  
Well, they all met me in the hall  
Somebody finked on me  
Said "Tom, yer gonna take a fall  
Somebody finked on me  
Well, I said next time I'll be good  
I said I'm misunderstood  
Those lines don't fly in this 'hood  
Somebody finked on me  
(Chorus)  
  
Spoken: No, I wonder who would have said something, Harry? Harry? Oh, no, Harry -- not *you*!  
  
**********  
  
I Saw Janeway Kissing Her XO  
tune: "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"  
  
I saw Janeway kissing her XO  
Underneath a tree here on New Earth  
Though they knew I was there  
I'm sure they didn't care  
And humans won't stop kissing 'cause a primate sits and stares  
Yes, I saw Janeway kissing her XO  
And then I saw him laugh and hold her tight  
Whe fun it would have been  
If Voyager had seen  
Janeway kissing her XO tonight  
  
**********  
  
What Ship Is This?  
tune: "Greensleeves"  
  
What ship is this that wanders lost  
A risky course a'laying  
Whom Borg Queen tries to take by force  
On whom Hirogen are preying?  
  
Chorus:  
She's Voyager, alone she flies  
Through alien space and hostile skies  
She is the Voyager  
A ship, a ship of Alpha  
  
Why does she fly this dang'rous space  
Where strange new enemies do dwell?  
She flies in hopes of reaching home  
But will she? No one can tell  
  
**********  
  
(I realize this melody is more obscure -- and the lyrics are a bit outdated, to boot - but I've always loved this one. Written by me and my husband, Chuck.)  
  
Christmas in Delta  
tune: "Christmas In Dixie"  
  
By now on dear old Terra  
The planet's all in lights  
And Quark is counting profits  
Out on Deep Space Nine  
And maybe on the borderland  
The Maquis won their fight  
And in the Federation  
There is peace in space tonight  
  
Chorus:  
Christmas in Delta  
It's lonely where we roam  
Merry Christmas from Delta  
To everyone at home  
  
It's raining out in Frisco  
Fleet Academy is closed  
It's lovely on Risa  
Like always, I suppose  
It's hot and dry on Vulcan  
Just as it ought to be  
And life is good in Alpha  
I wish I was there to see  
(Chorus)  
  
And from all our starship's people  
Merry Christmas tonight  
  
**********  
  
  
(Note: "Away out in Delta," "Paris's Lament," and "Christmas in Delta" originally appeared in the Unicorn Press fanzine "I Feel a Filk Coming On.") 


	9. The Ballad of Voyager

"Have Starship, Will Travel"? This little tune is to the theme from "Have Gun, Will Travel," one of Gene Roddenberry's early TV writing assignments. (How's *that* for a tie-in?) As so often, this one was written with my husband Chuck -- who, let it be said, is often a muse for even the songs he *doesn't* help with!  
  
  
The Ballad of Voyager  
tune: "The Ballad of Paladin"  
  
Starship Voyager is the name of the ship  
A ship without friends on an endless trip  
Though she shoes courage and she acts assured  
A ship of misfortune is the ship called  
Voyager  
Voyager, Voyager, where do you roam?  
Voyager, Voyager, far from home  
They travel onward, to home they fly  
Don't know they will make it, but know they must try  
There are Delta legends that Kazon have heard  
Of a ship from Alpha, of a ship called  
Voyager  
Voyager, Voyager, where do you roam?  
Voyager, Voyager, far from home  
Far, far from home  
Far from home  
Far from home  
  
  
And on that note, "Songs of Voyager" rides off into the sunset! Happy Treks to you, until we meet again.... 


End file.
